NEW YORK: The Dow and European stocks got another boost Monday and the dollar surged higher as Donald Trump’s shock win of the US presidential election last week continued to buoy markets.
As specifics about Trump’s policies and staffing picks began to drip out, markets took solace that he might not be as extreme as he sounded during the hard-fought election race, said analysts.
During the day the dollar struck an 11-month high against the euro at $1.0709, and reached a five-month peak against the yen.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit an all-time intraday record early in trade at 18,934.05, then retreated but still managed to close higher for a sixth straight day, up 0.1 percent.
The broader S&P 500 slipped less than 0.1 percent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.4 percent.
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 closed 0.3 percent higher, with Frankfurt’s DAX 30 adding 0.2 percent and the Paris CAC 40 climbing 0.4 percent.
“It appears that the fact that President-elect Trump might not be quite as radical and confrontational as some had feared … is pushing stocks higher for now,” said Markus Huber, a trader at City of London Markets.
Equities around the world have been volatile amid worries that Trump’s pledge of big-spending measures and tax cuts could lead to a surge in inflation and higher borrowing costs.
“Trump-watching is still the pastime of choice,” said analyst Jasper Lawler at CMC Markets.
The prospect of better and safer returns in the US has also led to an exodus from emerging markets and currencies, while the Mexican peso has hit record dollar-lows owing to concerns about Trump’s warning he will tear up a key trade deal.
